Tanya Bibikova, creator and head of Solnechnosadik, or “Sunny Kindergarten,” credits David Sobel’s Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens (Redleaf Press) as a great inspiration in the organizing of the outdoor preschool in mountain village at Crimea region. Bibikova spoke with Redleaf Press over email to share how the school is faring.

Solnechnosadik opened September 5th, 2016, and Bibikova happily reports, “It already feels like a lifetime of adventures.” They regularly have 3 to 5 kids, but occasionally their numbers will go up to 9 children plus a few parents on crowded days.

When asked about the most important benefits in nature kindergartens Bibikova says, “Long story short: kids are free and happy. They enjoy playing, running wild, climbing trees, observe home and wild animals and learn to respect them. They eat a lot and with great pleasure. And as the mother of two-year old, Yana, who visits our Solnechnosadik, I will say that the rest of the day is more structured, quieter and happier, than before.”

One common concern for outdoor schools is the shelter for extreme weather. Fortunately for Solnechnosadik they haven’t had to build any except for plastic tent they unroll for rains. “We are very lucky with the weather as it was only three days of rain in two months here at Solnechnoselie. The place is known for its great number of sunny days and almost no rain, which is bad for gardening and really good for us,” says Bibikova. They are currently making longer term plans including looking at a “Dubldom,” or small house.

Solnechnosadik has a tradition of serving fresh mint tea made of mint they gather with the children every day. “Some days we roast bread on fire or even cook a soup from fresh champions that grows in our apple garden,” shares Bibikova. Another favorite part of the children’s day includes Sunbeam—Sunny rabbit in Russian. “We have an animal totem—Sunbeam—who writes letters everyday for the kids,” explains Bibikova, and with a little help of the teachers the children will write letters back to Sunbeam at the end of the day about big things happened. “We have a special hole in tree trunk to exchange messages. Kids looove the letters and Sunbeam very much,” Bibikova explains.

As the air gets chillier, the leaves shift colors, and nighttime creeps up quicker, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up to Redleaf’s newest books. These new titles hit the shelves this month, perfect timing for the chilly days to come.

Blocks are a timeless toy. They never stop challenging, stimulating and engaging young children. Creative Block Play will help you set up an inviting space for block play, and inspire children’s block creations.

Just in time for the holiday season, the second edition of Celebrate! can help your program celebrate holidays in a respectful, unbiased way. It’s filled with strategies for implementing culturally and developmentally appropriate holiday activities.

Physical play is vital to young children’s development. This practical, hands-on resource encourages you to incorporate boisterous physical play into every day and offers concrete advice on how to create spaces for safe play.

The second edition of TheLanguage of Art further expands on the inspiration born in Reggio Emilia, Italy. This resource offers guidance for teachers to create space, time, and intentional processes for children’s exploration.

Find solutions quickly and easily! The third edition of this classic book offers hundreds of updated tested solutions for the tricky problems, questions, and concerns that arise throughout the early childhood teacher’s day.

Kimmy wants to build a kite, but everyone around her says she can’t. She cuts and pastes paper and ribbon all morning, but will it fly? This book will help you teach children how to take risks and stand up for themselves.

Friday, September 16 is National Play Dough Day, which is the perfect excuse to make some homemade play dough. The main benefit of sensory play—activities that stimulate a child’s sense of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing— is that it’s one of the best ways children learn about the world around them.

By touching loose, malleable objects such as play dough children are discovering the concepts of mass, volume and dimension. There is also a language element to sensory play, when teachers or caregivers offer adjectives to describe textures a child is feeling they build up their vocabulary. Words such as ‘rough,’ ‘wet,’ ‘dry,’ ‘bumpy,’ and ‘smooth’ are often used during sensory play.

Play dough also helps develop children’s small motor skills and strength as they push, squish and mold it in their hands. Similar to adults who squeeze stress balls to relax, children who play with play dough or other malleable objects feel better emotionally.

The best part about playing with play dough is that there is plenty of room for mistakes, what started out as a snake can turn into a snail. There are no right or wrong answers and children learn to make mistakes in a safe environment. Celebrating and learning from their mistakes is an important skill for children to bring into school and adulthood.

In honor of National Play Dough Day, we’ve pulled a great play dough recipe from The Ooey Gooey Handbook by Lisa Murphy.

The winners of the Learning Magazine 2017 Teachers’ Choice Award—teacher-selected books and products that exhibit exceptional quality—Loose Parts: Inspiring Play in Young Children has won in the Preschool category!

Written by Lisa Daly and Miriam Beloglovsky, Loose Parts encourages young children to utilize the loose parts they can find themselves, both organic and inorganic objects. From acorns to fabric scraps anything and everything is utilized to captivate children’s curiosity and allow their imagination to run wild.

A panel of teacher evaluators, who use the products in their own classrooms, carefully selects the Learning Magazine Teachers’ Choice Awards. They select the highest quality products for parents, teachers and caregivers to use. With over 550 color photographs of a range of loose parts found easily in early childhood settings, Loose Parts is a must-have in a preschool classroom.

Summer is officially coming to an end and back-to-school season is in full swing. For teachers looking to freshen up their classroom or create some new spaces, they can gather innovative classroom design ideas from these helpful books filled with environment inspiration.

This book perfectly blends design information with early childhood theory to give you a new perspective of how to set up your classroom. The colorful photos of intentionally designed spaces will serve to get your creative juices flowing.

If you want to create an environment that captivates and nurtures children, family, and staff while supporting children’s learning, this is the book for you. It goes beyond rating scales, regulations, and room arrangements. The photos show real early learning spaces and provide insightful and creative ideas for both indoor and outdoor spaces.

This book is filled with hundreds of ideas to help you create a high-quality school-age program that is exciting, inviting and engaging to children. It takes you through how to improve the three dimensions of a school-age environment: temporal, interpersonal, and physical. The authors’ years of experience in education is reflected in this book.

If you can’t redesign your indoor spaces, simply transform your outdoor spaces into learning environments. This book is filled with guidance to help you plan, design, and create an outdoor learning program that is a rich, thoughtfully equipped, natural extension of your indoor curriculum. It’s filled with practical and creative ideas and plenty of information to help make your outdoor classroom a reality.

Filled with low- and no-cost ideas, this book can help you to make your home a safe and welcoming space for children. Chapters are packed with full-color photographs and provide examples and tips for designing learning zones, selecting items, organizing materials, and more.

August is American Adventures month and Family Fun Month, it’s the perfect excuse to take your family on a sightseeing road trip! Before children head back to school, a road trip is a cheap, fun adventure to do as a family. It can be both educational and enjoyable to hit the great American highways and see the sites that will fill your child’s textbooks during the school year. With so many beautiful cities, national parks and landmarks, it can be overwhelming to decide what to see and what to skip out on. To help you map out a plan, we’ve come up with a list of can’t-miss-sites to help you narrow down your choices. In no particular order, we have the fifteen American sites you absolutely need to take your family to.

1. Mount Rushmore

Where: Keystone, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore is an impressive edifice on a huge mountainside that many school-aged children have seen pictures of. But seeing it in person is an entirely different feeling. This impressive feat of work should be on everyone’s list to see.

2. Big Sur

Where: California

Big Sur is a stretch of coastline unlike any other, with unending wildflowers, thousands of Condors and sunbathing sea otters. The vistas are unforgettable and can be enjoyed on the coastal Highway—which has some of the most beautiful views in the world– or you can pull over and explore as a family on foot.

3. Grand Canyon

Where: Arizona

The Grand Canyon is an iconic American landmark, complete with rugged larger-than-life volcanic features and soaring peaks, there are unlimited beautiful panoramic vistas. Soak in the sites or take the family on a hike down to the Colorado River.

4. National Mall

Where: Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C. is filled with so many famous sites, it can be kind of difficult to pick which ones to visit. The best place to start is the National Mall, the free Smithsonian museums line the green strip and you can see the Washington monument. Start off there and then explore the Potomac River and the rest of the monuments. Between the monuments and the museums it’s the perfect hands-on way to learn about the United States.

5. Millenium Park

Where: Chicago, Illinois

Home to way more than the Bean, Millenium Park—and nearby Grant Park—is a refreshing plot of greenery and art that span from Michigan Avenue to Lake Michigan. Get lost in the beautiful sculptures and art, grab a bite to eat and walk to the Lake all in one afternoon. This is perfect for young children who need a lot of space to run around, there is even a fountain area perfect to splash around in on a hot summer day.

6. Space Center Houston

Where: Houston, Texas

Relive the golden era of America’s space age with your little astronaut at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. You can see the spacecrafts and equipment that helped the U.S. dominate the Space Race. This is the perfect place for young children who are fascinated by science or space. With a country as broad and expansive as the United States, it can be hard to determine where to go first. As a family you have to pool together each others interests and go from there.

Wherever you end up, have a fun and safe Family Fun Month and American Adventure Month!